No Illusions
by PinkRangerV
Summary: The evil Rangers. They were given dark power, and then saved. But the darkness still haunts them...and they harbor no illusions about it. Canon pairings, with one AU in chap. 1.
1. Tommy

A\N: Don't know why I'm writing it. Hope you like.

* * *

Tommy has no illusions.

He was evil. He was one of the forces of darkness. He was the first of Earth's warriors to be turned.

He pretends he doesn't remember. That he doesn't know who he killed, what he did.

But he does.

He remembers Rita's mind invading his. He remembers being driven insane.

The dark side was so easy. Slipping into it was a shock, at first. He'd been unable to do anything but lay on his bed and cry. It still makes him feel a little ashamed to admit it.

Then it took over.

The feelings were impossible for him to describe. As he got older, he named them: pain, frusteration, rage. But there was always one he couldn't name.

And another he didn't want to.

Joy.

It's the same joy that comes when the rest of the darkness does. Oh, it still haunts him, just late at night, when he's alone, when no one can see.

Once it haunted him while the kids could see. He'd blown them off, gone to Haley, and seduced her. It had made a good enough distraction, and the joy had filled him at the way he used her.

But when he'd woken again, an hour later, it had frightened him.

Zordon had reassured him once. Said that other Rangers were turned evil. That it wasn't going to hurt him anymore.

Tommy wonders, sometimes, if Zordon always knew he was lying.

He was evil.

And it felt...good.


	2. Kat

A\N: A female POV.

* * *

Kat has no illusions.

She was turned evil. She was Rita's second attempt at creating a slave. When she and Tommy spoke of it, it seemed obvious that Rita had mastered the teqhniuqe the second time.

But for all Tommy's sympathy, she's never spoken to him about her memories.

Tommy has none. He doesn't know what he did, save what the others tell him.

But she knows.

Kat remembers the pain. She remembers the longing, desperate and hungry, for more, for destruction to wreak on herself. The prayers for it to stop.

She remembers the frusteration. The anger. She remembers sitting in her parent's church, praying, crying, and suddenly realizing that God was exactly like everyone else.

He abandoned her.

She had walked away.

And she remembered the abandonment.

How, in that little church, only the preist saw her break. How, instead of calling her back, he'd stood there, ignoring her suffering.

How her freinds, who did know her well enough to help, had turned their backs on her, calling her American.

How her parents had pretended nothing was wrong so they could fight.

She remembers the joy.

Tommy spoke to her once of his fear that he liked it too much. She understood instantly. But for her, the joy doesn't manifest itself in the need for another body in her bed.

It's nail polish.

Every move she made while evil, every hair tie, gesture, peice of clothing, was crafted to show the world the new Kat. To make it clear that she needed help, was someone different.

She had never painted her nails before. Her first attempt was a horrible blue. She'd gotten rid of it almost instantly.

The second worked better.

Bright pink nails were her memories of being evil, nail polish and pain. It's a good representation.

She still wears nail polish.

Kat's not quite sure why. She knows why she dated Tommy. She was hoping for a bond, for someone who understood her. It hadn't worked. They were like twins, and you didn't try to match siblings. They'd fight too much.

But she wears the nail polish.

Ultimatly, she doesn't mind.

If she must bear a scar, pink nails aren't too bad.


	3. Karone

A\N: I really do not know why this is such an addictive story.

* * *

Karone has no illusions.

She was raised evil. No one understands that. They keep asking if Dark Specter abused her. If she was hurt somehow.

One of the downfalls of Earth, Karone thinks, a small smile on her face, The tabloids. Always hunting a shock.

But she remembers love.

Evil still knows love. The people who raised her were wonderfully kind, although a bit strange.

But she knew it was still evil.

She knew at five. She had learned how to run away. She'd gone to Earth.

She'd seen a church.

A girl who...who _felt_ like her was there. They'd played together for a while, then begun talking.

Katherine had told her that people went to church because of God. Because God wanted people to love each other. Evil didn't, Kat said. Evil hated people.

When Karone had been caught and taken home, she'd asked why her family didn't like people.

They'd erased the memory, but fragments had stuck. So she'd tugged it out and kept it.

She was turned evil. But she was turned by her family.

So in the end, when she remembers her family, she tries to avoid the church.

They loved her.

And most of the time, it's enough.


	4. Ryan

A\N: I'm probably going to finish this in one day.

* * *

Ryan has no illusions.

He doesn't know what humans think or feel. He wasn't raised human.

He is a demon.

His skin might be different, but just as a demon raised human would be human, a human raised demon is demon.

The other demons make concessions for that. If he is to be punished, he is not locked away--he would not be let out in time to be useful again. If he is to attack somewhere, he is given weapons other demons don't need.

And if he is needed as a spy, he will work as one.

This lead him to learn about humans. To pretend he was human. To gather a tooth necklace--it seemed a good idea--and a modern haircut.

He avoided girls. He is the only evil Ranger to have outright avoided the opposite sex--even Katherine flaunted her obvious beauty. But he was raised demon, and a half-demon, half-human child might sound romantic, but would live a life no one in their right mind would condemn a child to.

He knows the humans have evil within them. They have stolen this land, first from demons, then from their own kin. But he knows demons do as well.

Ryan understands his world better than most.

Knowing this, when he learned that he was as half as any monster, that his father fought the demons, he couldn't walk away.

He'd seen Dana.

When he had stolen the morpher, he had walked into the wrong room. Water wasn't his natural habitat. While he was an uncanny swimmer, it disorented him.

So he'd seen her.

He'd knelt next to her, feeling a strange kinship to her. He'd wanted to protect her, in a way he'd never wanted to help anyone. He'd wanted to heal her wounds, to keep her safe from the terrifying world she lived in.

Now, when he could have easily fought his father, he chose his sister.

His father knows this. But they try to be freinds anyway. It's pointless to fight alongside teammates you don't trust.

But ultimatly, he is demon. And he only pretends otherwise for his sister.


	5. Eric

A\N: Eric's the best charecter of all! So fun.

* * *

Eric has no illusions.

He is not rich. He is not famous. And he has none of the advantages almost everyone else here has.

He is not evil, though.

He's not going to abandon the Rangers to death. He's not going to hurt anyone. He's just going to do his job.

And in the end, he's afraid.

Part of him--who is he kidding, _all_ of him--remembers Wes. How Wes would blush when Eric admitted he'd never been to a rich-kid hangout. How Wes would try to tone down his own wealth.

It feels condescending, when he adds the rest of the school to it.

He's never been good enough. And it's never been his fault.

He knows he'll be shunned for it. He knows that, no matter what, he has no chance. So he'll make his own name.

Eric will not play their game.

He does what he has to. He fights his own battles. And for him, nothing is more important than trying to become someone.

When he meets Taylor, all his old fears resurface. He's not good enough for her. He won't be her freind, because she's already judged him. He'd given her a parking ticket. Now she hates him.

But she flirts with him. And he flirts back.

It's a surprise. Possibly the first good surprise of his life.

But he's still afraid.

And he knows that fear, while he isn't evil, is what seperates him.

Eric has no illusions.

He is afraid.


	6. Merrick

A\N: Merrick, who has an Emo Kid vid on Youtube. Of course I'll take him on.

* * *

Merrick has no illusions.

Zen-Aku once lived through him. The beast possessed him.

He was evil.

He still remembers it. His pretense at disregard for the princess he loved. His hate. His pain.

The terror.

He knew he would be Zen-Aku forever. When he was turned good, he wept for it.

He needed a freind.

Just one.

He prayed for one. He pleaded for someone, anyone, to help him. The pain and abandonment were too much to bear.

Then the wolf puppy came.

He'd wept even more as he played with it, fed it, cared for it. He was snapped at quite a few times for being overbearing the first weeks.

He just needed someone to be there with him. But he'd learned. He'd let the puppy be sometimes. Let it play on its own.

And it always came back.

That was the miricle. Even the Tigress, who he'd been closest to, hadn't come to his grave. It had almost driven him insane.

But until he'd had to chase the puppy off, it had been his freind.

That, more than anything, had turned him good: the need for a freind.

And that, more than anything, had been the one thing he'd been given.


	7. Blake

A\N: Yet more...

* * *

Blake has no illusions.

He was evil. Pure evil.

But he couldn't stop thinking about her.

He wanted the Rangers gone. He wanted them to pay for murdering his parents.

But at the same time, he kept watching one.

Tori moved beautifully. He saw that. He liked the way her legs looked. And her face, when she wasn't morphed.

He'd asked Lothor, once, if there was a way to destroy the power, but not the Ranger. It would have been a good thing. Then he could have had revenge on Tori, and kept her anyway.

Lothor had explained that the Ranger was just the vessel. There was a greater Power. It couldn't be destroyed unless the vessels were using the Power.

So Blake had come up with a new plan. This one was simpler, and much more brutal.

But every time he walked up to her at the store, planning to kidnap her, he couldn't.

She kept smiling. And looking shy.

And he loved her.

Somehow, the evil in him had taken hold deeper than that love. But the love was there.

So in the end, he chose to use her.

There was no more choice then.

Blake knew he was evil. He knew if Tori ever knew what he had planned for her, she would dump him in disgust.

But he also knew that he loved Tori.

And he'd paid for both.


	8. Hunter

A\N: I'm keeping Hunter and Blake seperate. They are twins...

* * *

Hunter has no illusions.

He was evil.

He remembers what made him that way. He remembers his parent's death.

He remembers wondering if he would have to go back to his old home.

He still fingers the scar when he thinks of it. His palm had been split open by his old mother, when she had hit him with a ruler. He remembers, very faintly, standing still and trying not to show the pain.

He remembers meeting Blake. Instantly taking the younger boy under his wing, trying to protect him.

When he had learned that there was no danger, he had clung to his new parents, too. He had let himself be normal.

His powers had appeared, his strange connection to the storm. So his parents had sent him and Blake away.

He remembered hating them, then realizing, slowly, that they had been helping him.

His whole life was bound in their existance.

The pain and fear when he and Blake had learned of their parent's death was something that could not be forgiven. He had held Blake and planned to kill the next person to hurt either of them.

He would have.

Hunter knows that no matter what, he will always remember how it feels to be afraid of your parents. He won't let anyone else go through that.

And if someone takes away a frightened child's sole comfort...

Well, they deserved a special place in hell.

Hunter knows now that it wasn't his new teammates. It was Lothor. For that, he fought Lothor with every ounce of his strength. It took him time to really understand that Sensei hadn't hurt anyone, and it had showed, but it needed to. He'd been hurt too often. And Blake...well, Blake was infatuated with Tori. He couldn't have seen straight if he'd wanted to.

His whole life, he'd fought to be safe.

And because of that, he is evil.


	9. Trent

A\N: Wow, everyone loves this! Keep the reviews coming--it keeps me inspired!

* * *

Trent has no illusions.

He was turned evil by his own father. He was turned into a monster.

It scares him, some days. How close he came to hurting the people he needed. How much he needed them.

How much he still needs them.

He's always been alone. His parents have been too busy for him, both his biological parents and his adopted father. He learned to live with it.

He thought he was fine.

Then he was turned.

All he remembers is the fear. The way it almost hurt when someone came too close to them, and he would shove them violently away.

The desperate hunger for someone, anyone, to be near him. To touch him. To let him scream out his pain, his confusion, his fear.

The two emotions ruled him. It made him angry, agressive, antisocial. He didn't need the war inside him.

He needed salvation.

The other evil Rangers enjoyed, on some level, the evil.

He never has.

Trent has no illusions.

He needs people. He needs freindship, love, comfort, family.

But he destroyed it on his own.

He imagines Someone, somewhere, laughing. For all his need, he destroyed whatever trust the Rangers had in him.

So he avoids them.

It hurts. It hurts like nothing he's ever known. But to be near them, looking through his invisible barrier at their freindship...

That's worse. It will drive him insane, the need for friends.

This is the lesser of two evils.

And it's slowly killing him.


	10. Charlie

A\N: I HATE SPD. It has the worst charecters ever. But Charlie is quite interesting...

* * *

Charlie has no illusions.

She is paying for her crimes. And she's commited them.

But she did the right thing.

Her whole life has been dominated by her father. By the police officer who called her names, pushed her around.

She joined SPD to prove him wrong.

She would make something of herself. Be as good as any boy.

She would do it.

Then Grumm had captured her.

She'd been terrified at first, terrified and angry. Where were SPD? Why hadn't they saved her?

What would Grumm do with her?

Her whole team was away from her. It was like no other nightmare she'd lived.

Charlie had held one illusion once, that she wasn't maternal.

She'd found out otherwise. Her team were her children. Being apart from them nearly killed her.

Then Grumm had talked to her. Honestly talked. She'd been ready to tear him apart for keeping her teammates from her.

But as she spoke, as she opened her heart, her teammates had, one by one, been returned to her.

She knew it was a ploy. She knew Grumm wanted to turn her.

But Charlie knew that it was the best thing that could have happened to her. She _needed_ to talk, to let someone into her mind.

And Grumm was a good listener. He pretended to care, even if he didn't. He'd watched her cry and hadn't scorned her tears.

She knows that's why she's imprisoned now. That, if she hadn't given in to temptation, she would be free. Fighting.

But she would't have known how it felt for someone to listen. To care.

Charlie has no illusions.

Prison is nothing.

Someone caring for her?

That was everything.

And she's glad to pay the price.


	11. Daggeron

A\N: Yay! I get to mess around with Daggeron!

* * *

Daggeron has no illusions.

He was turned evil. He tried to destroy his wife.

He hated his son.

He's always felt that the deepest part of hell should be reserved for parents who harm their children. But now he has.

And he hates himself for it.

He knows he was turned. He knows the Magyk holding him seeped so deeply into his mind that fighting it without help was impossible.

But he hates himself.

The calm, dark anger that ruled him, the arrogance he kept inside, it frightens him. Especially when it returns.

Udonna is understanding. She knows he is no more at fault then Beowyn. And she helps. The sight of her is enough.

But Beowyn isn't.

Daggeron doesn't call him Beowyn. His son prefers the name Nick. It's a funny, alien name, but Daggeron would move the world for his son.

He wants Nick to know that. He wants to give his son the love he never could.

But Nick is afraid of him.

In his heart, Daggeron has no illusions.

He was turned evil.

And that evil is why he hates himself.


	12. Epilouge

A\N: Now I don't know any more evil Rangers. Dang.

* * *

They look at each other.

The circle is comprimised of men and women who understand. They know the darkness they face.

At one time, they were the darkness.

Their leader, the First, stands.

Daggeron thinks of his son, Nick. He wants to return, to talk to his son again. He wonders why he didn't say more, before this mission.

Charlie thinks of Grumm. Of his promises. His lies. The comfort they gave. The father he was, for a short time.

Trent looks at the man who mentored him. He senses, more than sees, the people around him. He tries, one last time, to ignore the pain of being near humans--he needs to concentrate.

Hunter looks at his little brother. Protectiveness is enough to sharpen his thoughts, to make him want to kill anyone near them. He calms himself. Going over here would be ridiculously embarassing.

Blake thinks of Tori. Of how much he wishes he could say goodbye. He knows they might not survive this.

Merrick, sitting next to Zen-Aku, senses the remaining beast within him tensing. Whatever comes next, he will enjoy it. It's in the beast's nature to fight, to win.

Eric feels no fear, for once. These people are like him. They understand him. It's relaxing, and if he's going to die on this mission, then he wants to die with the people who are like him.

Karone clenches her fists. She's always somewhat nervous before a battle. What if Dark Specter tries to recapture her? She knows she would enjoy being evil again. Her family is there, as well as with Andros. It's a strange feeling, this double acceptance.

Kat looks at her brother in pain. The darkness threatens her. She touches her pink nails. She'd painted them again today. She hopes it's not a sign--she doesn't want to be turned evil again.

Tommy looks at his team.

He begins to speak.

"I won't pretend this is a volunteer mission. We don't have a choice. Dark Specter is coming to Earth." He takes a breath.

He's never wanted to be this. To do this.

He just wanted to survive Rita's attack. Being a hero? Not him.

"We have to stop him."


End file.
